HONG KONG: Thailand is a key membership gap which the International
Communications Agency Network (ICOM) wants to quickly plug this year
after DDB bought member agency, Far East Advertising.
ICOM - one of the world's largest network of independent advertising and
marketing communications agencies - is also looking to add a second
agency member in Australia this year, said the group's newly-elected
vice-president Guillermo Garcia.
Garcia, chairman of Manila's Adformatix, was elected to the post at
ICOM's annual global meeting in New York at the end of last month. He is
also Asia-Pacific regional director for the network.
ICOM members also elected Franco Sotomayor, chief executive of Puerto
Rico's Premier Maldonado & Associates, as their president.
Both officers will lead the network, which has USdollars 3 billion in
billings and 90 members, over the next two years.
More than 53 agency principals and top managers from 30 countries
attended the New York gathering, where members agreed that another
priority is to find business sharing opportunities in each of the
regions. "The European members of ICOM have been very aggressive in
building multi-agency business.
In the Asia-Pacific region, we've identified business opportunities
among partner agencies. This shall be accelerated," said Garcia.
Garcia said the network identified several clients for "special
attention".
"Clients like Gallo Wines, Mars/Ebly food products, Toshiba copiers and
printers and Case Construction equipment have benefited from the
coordinated work of the network," he added.
ICOM pointed to two business sharing opportunities - JI Case for the
Fiat Group and Mars/Ebly - achieved by its European members, led by the
Dassas Group.
"As a result of the success of its Ebly brand in France, the Mars Group
is working with ICOM agencies in a number of western European countries
and in the Middle East," according to ICOM.
